Tag: Eggs

We’re just about done with lambing with a single ewe left. The goat kids have begun to arrive and we have 10 kids out of 5 does so far! The lambs are bashful and shy when they are born, while the goat kids come into the world willful and independent.

We give all our newborns a shot of BoSe, a selenium and vitamin E booster commonly given to goats residing in selenium deficient areas. Selenium is necessary to maintain muscle tone in adults, and prevent “white muscle disease” in newborn animals, read more. These shots are given under the skin and take less than a minute. However, in that time the average goat kid will emit 2-5 blood-curdling shrieks. Keep in mind these babies are roughly 4-6 pounds, half the size of lambs, which can weight between 10-15lbs. Size can be deceiving when it comes to these little ones!

Our first batch of broilers arrived on Thursday which to me is the OFFICIAL start of the season. We plan to start having chicken at market by the end of May with weekly processing through the summer. Part of our expansion plan includes having a walk-in so we are aiming for fresh chicken at both Tuesday and Friday markets. Stay tuned for a post on our processing schedule or follow the farm’s Facebook page where we’ll announce where you can find fresh chicken.

Our first batch of goslings also arrived! They are the sweetest of creatures. These are the only babies who are visibly excited to see US! These Emden goslings will be raised alongside our broilers this year to protect them from the avian predation we’ve experienced the last few years. A fellow farmer shared with us the tip to start them off together so that the geese learn to appreciate the chicks from an early age, otherwise some bullying occurs. We will be offering holiday geese again this year. Like turkeys we will start the reservation list in July and you’ll be able to choose when you’d like your goose in either November, December or January.

The funds we raise will be used to purchase a hoop house, nest boxes and related lumber and supplies for a larger and improved winter house for our hens. A year from now we aim to have 500 hens laying which will mean more of our great eggs and expanded availability at Morning Glory in Brunswick and as an “add-on” share to a local vegetable CSA. There are many benefits to be derived from this expansion. We’ll be using 4 moveable houses to rotate our hens through pasture which will add a tremendous amount of fertility to our soil. We’ll need it as we open up our new land and to ensure the continued productivity of our current acreage.

Please support our campaign and share it with your networks of friends, family and neighbors who are excited about new farmers and local, organic food. No pledge is too small and we’re glad to accept pledges at farmers market and answer your questions about the project. We created a detailed post about the farm’s expansion plans and in coming weeks we’ll share how the changes we’re planning will improve animal health, streamline management and allow us to grow the farm while maintaining the same high quality of products & our sanity!

We know that crowdfunding isn’t for everyone and we’ll be launching a Market Share CSA later this month. This will allow you to purchase a flexible sized “share” and give you a cash bonus based on the size you choose. Much like a CSA this will help us have operating funds during May and you’ll have the flexibility to use your share to purchase whatever you like throughout the 2017 season. Look for details at market and in the next newsletter where we’ll also talk about outdoor markets- just 4 weeks away!

Thank you so much to those that contributed, shared our campaign and let us know of their support for our farm’s growth. We are so appreciative.

Though our hens produce more than 100 dozen eggs each week we are often sold out within the first 2 hours of our farmers’ markets. Our eggs, produced by free-roaming and adventurous hens are in high demand because of their golden yolks and unparalleled freshness. We love our animals and want to provide them with the best possible living conditions. Through this project and others detailed in our “growing out” plan we can both improve animal well-being and create efficiencies. These changes will enable us to grow our business to provide more local, organic meats & eggs to the great Brunswick area and support us as full-time farmers.

Last week we launched a crowdfunding campaignto raise $12,000. The funds are specifically to build housing to double the number of hens we keep from 250 to 500. We also see this as an opportunity to raise awareness about the farm, our products and kickstart the farm’s expansion. At present we lease the majority of our farm buildings. Over the last 3 years our business has grown, fueled by local demand, and we’ve outgrown our leased barns. We’re ready to begin expanding the farm to land we own in order to build the larger barns, processing areas and the cold storage we need to farm long into the future.

We have great markets, unparalleled products and a love for our work- with your support we can make this vision a reality. Please pledge & share our campaign.

Lambing is underway! So far lambs have been arriving every 12 hours and wow, that would be amazing if that pace kept right up.

In case you missed it- our annual report is now available. For those of you unfamiliar, the report is our opportunity to share the year’s numbers and statistics through infographics. We had an amazing season despite the lack of rain and our thanks goes out to all of you for purchasing our products and coming out to markets. We have finalized many of our poultry orders for 2017 and geese will be BACK!

Please mark your calendars and plan to join us at Open Farm Day. This year’s date will be Sunday, July 23rd. The date coincides with the Maine’s state-wide Open Farm Day as well as Bowdoinham’s Farm & Art Trail. As in the past a local foods BBQ will be held in the afternoon. The farm will be open from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm for tours, an opportunity to meet the animals and to visit our pop-up farm store.

If you’re looking for a unique addition to your Easter celebrations you can find it at Wilbur’s Chocolates in Brunswick or Freeport. Janet learned the art of making these ornate “panorama” decorative eggs from Jake’s great grandmother, Lucienne Galle. The eggs are filled with tiny figures and each is accompanied by a story about the animal inside, imagining a life on Apple Creek Farm. You can read more about this tradition in a past post, Eggs of All Sizes.

We’ve added an online store for our sheepskins and goat hides. While these are available at the farmers market year-round the online store will be stocked with an entirely different inventory. Our hides are tanned by the kind folks of Vermont Natural Sheepskins and by the traditional craftspeople of Buck’s County Fur Products.

For me the weather in July seemed more like August, so it feels a bit like we’re getting an extra month of summer! We’ll be busy this month with our last two groups of broilers, introducing the turkeys to pasture and hopefully enjoying a day or two at the beach with visiting family members.

We had a fun Open Farm Day and thank everyone that came out despite the rain. The day cleared shortly afternoon and we were able to enjoy the local foods bbq with family, friends and neighbors. We are hoping another such rainy morning will come along soon as our pastures are getting quite dry. If you have been to the farm you know we have many beautiful trees and this year there are distinct patches of dry grass around them. If you’re curious about where we stand with rain visit the US Drought Monitor. We are fortunate to have options to mitigate the dry conditions though this does mean feeding hay earlier and grazing what has in the past been an on-farm hay field.

Due to a variety of circumstances we won’t be raising geese. While this a big disappointment (they are the most adorable babies) it also a blessing as the dry weather means there is less grass coming up. The geese are fantastic grazers and grow best with plenty of pasture.

We will be raising turkeys for Thanksgiving again this year. These birds are available to order now, so be sure to make a note. Birds are priced at $5/lb with average sizes between 12-15 lbs. We sold out last year so don’t delay!

We’re thrilled to be headed outside for another market season! You can find us twice weekly at markets in Brunswick.

Mark your calendars now for Bowdoinham Open Farm Day held on Sunday, July 17th. Apple Creek will be open from 9 am – 12 noon and an afternoon local foods barbecue will be held at the Mailly Waterfront Park.

Starting in June we will have fresh chicken (cuts as well as whole & half birds). Due to our processing schedule they will only be available on Saturdays at the Brunswick Topsham Land Trust Farmers Market.

In July we’ll start taking orders for our Holiday birds. We sold out of both goose and turkey last year so don’t delay!

New Products! We’ll be raising summer turkeys this year in order to offer both ground turkey and drumsticks during the fall and winter. Like all our poultry these birds are raised outside on a diet of fresh pasture and certified organic grains. We take the utmost care in raising our birds to provide you with the healthiest food for your table.

With the increasing day light our hens are producing eggs of all sizes. Some of our pullets eggs are still getting larger and from time to time one of our matronly hens produces an egg that can only be described as “eggs-ordinary!” Though the weather has warmed the geese, whose eggs are most magnificent (and delicious) have not yet begun to lay.

Eggs are a traditional symbol of rebirth which corresponds nicely to the Easter holiday. In the Victorian era a great deal of creativity was applied to Easter decorations with eggs at the center. From this time comes the traditional craft of eggs made from cast sugar called panorama eggs or look-inside eggs which are filled with miniature dioramas paying homage to the season.

Here on the farm these eggs are a family tradition dating back to 1969 when Jake’s great grandmother, Lucienne Galle began to make them. Today Janet continues to craft these delightful objects, decorating them with seasonal hues of pink, blue, mint green and yellow then filling them with tiny animals, botanical finds and seasonal favorites. This year Janet produced a limited quantity for Wilbur’s of Maine Chocolates, located in downtown Brunswick. Each egg comes with a short narrative that describes what is happening in the scene inside and relates to a character or activity on the farm. These eggs are not made for eating, but rather for display. We hope they will become treasured parts of your family’s spring celebrations.

Back in October our new laying hens arrived. This year we’ve chosen to raise a mixed flock of Delaware and Brown Leghorns. Leghorns or “leggerns” are one of the best known poultry breeds. They are also more commonly found on production farms and are pretty much the epitome of chicken- for instance this guy is a caricature of a leghorn. The most interesting thing though, and the reason for this post is that these hens lay white eggs.

Why a white egg? Well, by choosing to raise Brown Leghorns we can easily identify the eggs from our heritage breed Delaware. I’ve long been wanting a breeding flock of Delaware, but it has been difficult to get a large number of eggs to sell in order to offset those eggs kept for hatching. The Brown Leghorn is a sturdy bird, but hens only weigh 4 lbs (compared with 6lb Delaware hens) and they lay up to 300 eggs a year. Curious about how your hens’ production measures up- check out the Henderson’s Chicken Breed Chart. The leghorns are much more flighty than the Delaware and have no qualms about flying up to roost on your head, shoulder or back when you tend them. I’m hopeful their beautiful brown coloring will make them less visible to predators and I know their affinity will flight will improve their chances as well.

But back to egg color, so what is the difference? In a word, nothing, but if you want to know more check out this All Things Considered report. At Bacon Brook Farmstead there is no difference in management- all our birds are fed certified organic grain, have outdoor access (but they do have a curfew) and roam big pastures where they can engage in important hen activities like dusting, scratching and fluffing. For the winter their share a paddock with 13 adorable goat kids and we enjoy watching how they make themselves right at home.